Of Shields and Hunters
by AnnieHart
Summary: Part 1 in the Shields and Hunters Series. Beginning during the events of Episode 1&2, except Lauren and John's relationship is going to grow. So, slight AU. Strong, stubborn, guarded, willfull young mutant woman meets stubborn, strong, protective, possessive young mutant man. Emotions clash, relationships formed, love possibly grows, oh and they're bondmates.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note:What if Lauren and her brother were slightly older than portrayed on the show. I honestly couldn't find her age on the Gifted Wiki, so Lauren is almost 18 since Johhny is mid-20's I'm guessing. Lauren has a decent grip on her powers with the exception of heightened emotions, and things tend to move or be blocked without her realizing it. Johnny is somehow one of the few new people in her life that help her reign everything in. He helps her deal with her emotions, form hiding her powers with her parents to being responsible for her younger brother. She'd been an adult for far too long and Johnny is somehow the one person that can see through her defenses. I'm also introducing bondmarks and bondmates, so we'll see how this goes.

Please tell me what you guys think. I love reviews, they tell me if I'm crazy for trying something new or not. Advice is always helpful too. Thank you all! As always, I own nothing, just playing with the characters and I have no beta so It was written in about 2 days in between chemistry homework. Also, please tell me if something doesn't make sense. I'd appreciate it.

 **She** had been so careful to not reveal her powers or her bondmark, and then the dance had happened and now her parents knew that she was a mutant. Lauren regretted that, seeing as how she was almost eighteen and would soon no longer be protected by her parents…but she'd refused to leave Andy. She'd been afraid the bullying would trigger the gene in him; the mere fact that she had the gene said his chances were higher than most…and she'd been right.

She'd tried to protect him, and she'd failed. She'd failed them both. Her parents too. They were on the run because she hadn't been able to stop Andy's outburst and hadn't been able to prevent people from seeing her abilities either. She'd been able to keep the mark hidden though, thankfully. The questions would come about the ability, she didn't need questions about the mark too.

Lauren wanted so much to break down and just cry at the unfairness of it all, but she'd learned long ago that the world wasn't fair. It was beyond unfair. Everything was in favor of humans and everything was stacked against mutants, even those who had accidental outbursts after being bullied by humans. The police seemed to forget that while mutants could be dangerous, humans were even more dangerous at times. Human cruelty wasn't different though, mutants were and different was feared.

Seeing how Andy had been treated and seeing how the mutant girl at the bowling alley had been treated had been a harsh reminder that the image she presented to the world had to be perfect. There was absolutely no room for error, for difference.

The outward personal that Lauren presented was exhausting, but it had to be done. The world she lived in didn't accept anything that would hint at being different, so she had to be the opposite. As far as her parents knew, she was perfect, she didn't make mistakes. They were never supposed to know that beneath the perfect persona and the high walls she had built to keep herself safe, she was terrified and begging for help.

Lauren hadn't expected anyone to ever see through her walls and shields, she was good at keeping her real feelings hidden except that these new people, new mutants they had come into contact were throwing her equilibrium for a loop. She was struggling to understand the new factors in her life, to adapt and keep control of her abilities and had been doing somewhat decently at it…until she'd come into contact with Him. John Proudstar, Johnny, Thunderbird.

He was a tracker and a hunter, and she had a feeling he was either going to be helpful to her or a pain in the ass for her, or both. Lauren was betting a high chance for both.

Their race to get away from the Sentinal Services hadn't let them have much contact, but it had effectively exposed her shielding abilities and her strength. She'd seen his assessing eyes during the escape but they hadn't touched until the events with the portals. With how unbalanced Clarice, or Blink, had been, they hadn't had much of a choice, with Johnny being the protective leader he was and they'd had skin-to-skin contact and that was that. She didn't know how bonds were formed, but she did know that they were pretty much cemented after skin-on-skin contact. It was screwed up and also why she'd tried not to touch anyone except her human boyfriend. He didn't have a mark so she wasn't in danger of being connected to him.

Lauren's brief time with Johnny Proudstar had shown her that he was extremely capable of not only seeing through her walls and shields but he was also pretty capable of handling her in a closer sense, and she wasn't too fond of that discovery.

She'd had the requisite boyfriend because it was expected, and because he didn't have a mark, so she wasn't in danger of getting to close to him. With John, she felt an attraction but she'd never had the ease of having an honest relationship and she was determined to not be a cliché and start one in the middle of adrenaline fueled events. Her family needed her. Her brother and mother needed her to be strong now that her dad was MIA.

Lauren didn't have the capacity to deal with a boyfriend or bondmate at the moment. So, she was determined not to. She didn't realize that not taking Johnny's thoughts and feelings into account would be a massive disadvantage on her part. She also didn't realize that the bondmark that had flared up and cemented when he'd touched her back would give him an advantage with her.

She didn't know enough about the mark, her research having proven fairly fruitless, but if she had, Lauren would have known that her attempts to block it and forget about it would only work for so long.

She didn't though, and she didn't know enough about Johnny to know that not only was he a good leader, he was also stubborn, protective and possessive. She didn't know that now that he knew about the bondmark's connection with her, he wouldn't be letting her go.

Johnny, on the other hand, was very much aware of the bondmark, had accepted it a long time ago when his mark had flared up and had done his best to keep track of everything that had trickled through the new bondmark.

The bondmark allowed a variety of things to be shared between bonded; thoughts, emotions, glimpses of what they each saw and a variety of other things. He knew Lauren didn't know much, if anything about the bondmark and knew she hadn't been aware some of her thoughts and feelings had trickled in over the years. He did though, and he'd used it to keep track of his bondmate over the past three years figuring if she'd ever be in danger, he'd use it to help somehow.

With everything going on in their world, with Mutant punishment becoming harsher, Johnny had known it was a 50/50 chance they'd meet at some point. He just hadn't expected his bonded to be the young blonde daughter of the people helping capture mutants.

At first, He'd thought she was young, her height not helping with that assumption but he'd overheard that she was almost eighteen and her eyes told him she was older than she appeared. Weren't they all, though.

Either way, the recent events had shown him she was strong and stubborn, as well as protective and caring and knew he was going to have to figure something out. Her family needed to be safe, but he didn't know if he was prepared to let her go now that he'd found her. They could also use someone with her abilities in helping other mutants get to safe places.

For now though, he knew who his bondmate was and needed to make sure that she and her mother and brother were safe after the portal disasters.

Johnny also needed to talk with her about the bondmark. He'd seen that Lauren was guarded and it wasn't going to allow much distance between them, and to be honest, he wasn't either.

It was a good thing he was practically invulnerable, because he knew females and Lauren looked like she scratched.

He was kind of looking forward to their talk, even though he had a feeling she wasn't.


	2. Of Cleaning Closets and Stubborn Tracker

Author's Note:You guys! I'm so stunned and amazed at your support of this story and this pairing. I started this chapter last night but wanted to wait to finish it after the episode aired to see if there was anything I could use...and there was...just down the road a little ;) This chapter, I think?, is a little longer and I debated splitting up the POV's into different chapters, but you amazed me with your support so I'm giving you a longer chapter :) Very little Lauren/John interaction this last episode so I have a feeling that the writers are angling for a Clarice/John pairing, which is fine cause they're cute too...it just means this story will be somewhat AU from the show. Heck, since I don't typically plan what I want to write about it advance, the scenes just pop in my head and I start writing, it's entirely possible I'll use the basis of the episodes to write and make my focus about John and Lauren. Who knows? I just so appreciate you guy's support of this story and coming with me on this little journey. Updates wise, most likely 1-2 times a week, around Tuesday nights so I can watch the episode and see if there's any inspiration. Hope you don't mind the wait :)

Another Note: for the Guest who left me a review asking if I could be more cliche about the bondmark idea, Yes, it's very possible I could've been more cliche about it. I like cliche things sometimes and I write what comes into my head. I stated in the Summary that I was writing with this as a new idea for me, if you didn't want to read another bondmark story, you didn't have to read this one. I appreciate any and all helpful (good/bad) criticism reviews, but a review pretty much saying that I'm writing a stupid idea is not nice. I write and post as a stress reliever from school and life, you don't have to read my stories.

Also, dialogue is freaking hard for me to write, I'm much better at inner thoughts and actions, so hopefully the dialogue fits them. As always, I own nothing, I simply play for a little while. All mistakes are mine, I have respect for all betas, I simply don't have the patience for one. If anything doesn't make sense, or seems wrong, please let me know and I'll try to fix it. Thank you, that is all :) Sorry for the long note, go read the next chapter now :) I'm hoping my little thoughts meet your hopes and excitements for this story.

* * *

 **Lauren** sighed as she rummaged around the utility closet, looking for any type of cleaning supplies to help clean up the after effects of Clarice's portals. She was slightly drained after shielding so many of them back together, but that didn't mean that she couldn't help clean up.

Help clean up….and try her best to avoid John. Was she in denial? _Nope_. Was she acting like a little kid? _Maybe_. Lauren just wasn't entirely sure what to say to him, to any of them really.

Clarice's condition was party her family's fault, partly her fault which meant she had a duty to help with the portals and after clean up. Until she figured out what to say or do to help out, she was on clean up duty. _Avoiding John was just a bonus_. She'd figure out what to say to him... _eventually._

So deep in her thoughts, and rummaging, and attempts at ignoring the ache in her chest that seemed to get deeper with each passing moment in their current place that Lauren never noticed when footsteps echoed softly towards her or when a shadow darkened the side-doorway of the closet. She had paused for a moment to rub at her chest, trying to get the ache to go away or at least lessen and noticed the presence at the door a split second before a throat cleared to get her attention. _Without_ that split second, she would have whirled defensively with her shield up to shove the person back. As it was, _with_ the split second, she didn't whirl around but her shield did pop up to surround her protectively while she turned around to face the person.

 _John, of course._

Pausing for a moment, her eyes locked on his, her hand resumed rubbing at her shirt-covered chest which also drew his eyes to the motion. She couldn't decipher the emotion that passed through his eyes, but the ache lessened.

Her hand dropped down, but the shield stayed up, which she noticed his eyes focus on next. She wasn't willing to speak just yet, and since he seemed to be following her lead for the moment, John didn't say a word but he did walk up to her slowly and reach a hand out to touch the shield, as if checking it out and testing it.

Lauren shuddered with the new pressure on the shield, causing John's eyes to connect with hers and concern to flash through them, and then felt something pulse through her chest, almost like _reassurance_ and _safety_.

She still couldn't take too much pressure on the shield without draining herself even further, so with a twitch of her hand, the shield fell and she was left defenseless and in close proximity with John.

 _Lauren wasn't sure which one made her more uneasy._

Now wasn't the time for that though, so she shoved it away and tried to brace herself for the conversation about the happen. Lauren wasn't sure what was going to be said, but she knew it would involve the bondmark and she had a feeling she wasn't going to like it.

 _The world hadn't been on her side for multiple years though, so why would it start now?_

As if sensing her thoughts, which, with the bondmark Lauren considered could be a possibility, John finally spoke up…but it wasn't what she thought it would be.

He took a breath, "how are you? You okay?"

That was slightly unexpected, but given the way he'd fought to save Clarice, also slightly expected.

 _No_ , she in fact was _not_ okay, but he didn't need to know that.

Lauren hesitated for a fraction, before nodding, trying to make herself sound convincing. "Yeah, I'm okay." Then quickly trying to redirect the conversation she wanted to avoid very much, "Hey, are there any cleaning supplies? Clarice is still out of it, and she doesn't need to see a huge disaster when she wakes up."

She felt something pulse through her chest for a moment, and saw a small smirk lingering at the corners of John's mouth while his eye seemed to glitter knowingly.

So she was being more than a little obvious that she didn't want to talk at the moment, but she could read John's body language and the ache in her chest, while lessened, had become slightly firmer...all of which told Lauren that this conversation was going to happen.

She was hoping for somewhere a little more private than a supply closet, though.

John stance remained firm in front of her, with his eyes on hers but nothing about him was threatening. He wasn't leaving though.

His voice was lowered, but firm when he obliterated her attempt to divert the conversation and brought up the topic she was trying to avoid.

"We need to talk about the bondmark. I know you don't know a lot about what's going on, and I can fill you in on some things, but bondmarks are different for each pair."

Lauren didn't like his assumption, but she couldn't deny that it was true. Her research had given her little to nothing, so her knowledge was less than she'd like it to be.

Wait though, _each pair?_

" _What do you mean, each pair?_ " She wanted to know, _needed_ to know what was going on.

John's eyes, still locked on hers, seemed to soften and she felt the ache in her chest tighten a little bit, enough to make her feel it more but not enough to cause pain.

He glanced around, "This isn't really the place to talk about the bondmark. The office is empty right now, Marcos is with the young kids. This may take a little while."

She was slightly nervous about being alone with him, but she wanted answers more than she was nervous.

She made have been trying to avoid John and the conversation, but she wasn't in denial about the bondmark...and she'd already given her lack of knowledge away with her response.

Lauren nodded, "Okay. Yeah, a less open place to talk about this would be good."

John's lips quirked into an almost smile, and the ache in her chest got a little lighter.

She was starting to understand that the ache had _something_ to do with the bondmark, she just wasn't sure _how_ and to _what extent_. A question to ask when they were alone. _She didn't like not knowing._

John shifted to the side, leaving enough space for her to walk through, but not enough space for her to go through without brushing against him.

She didn't want to touch him ( _even though deep down she kind of did_ ) and she had a feeling he knew that, which was why he wasn't leaving a ton of room.

"Lead the way," he responded with a tilted head and, while John was someone who would normally lead, she had a feeling when it came to her, he would almost always make sure she was in front.

Bracing herself to do just that, and not to hunch her shoulders in defense, Lauren moved to do just that.

She wanted answers, John was the only one who would have them. She also had a feeling that this conversation was going to change a lot of things, if not everything.

 _Lauren didn't think she was ready. She didn't think she would ever be ready._

 ** _John's POV_**

John stepped through the office door, leading back into the main part of the abandoned building they'd taken over.

He'd been helping clean up after the disaster portals, and keeping an eye on Clarice as she was recovering, but it was time to find Lauren. _They needed to talk._

John had realized she'd been doing her best to avoid him, which had both amused and aggravated him but with everything that had been happening there hadn't been time to deal with the new changes.

There was time now. He just needed to find Lauren, which could be done using the bondmark.

It was a trick he would need to teach her at some point, but for now, it would do to help him find her. He had a feeling she was going to be a trouble magnet, so the bondmark would help his abilities in locating her.

 _He'd accepted it,_ _Lauren was his. He was Lauren's._ He had no reason to fight it, and the bondmark wouldn't let there be real distance between them anyways. It was meant to help deepen the relationship between the mutants. He only needed to look at Lorna and Marcos for proof of that.

John just needed to get Lauren to feel safe enough to let down her mental walls and accept the bond, which would take time. He had no problem with that, personally. It was time for everything else that they were running short on.

He didn't need to use his abilities to find her, the warmth in his chest gave him a sense of direction to where she was.

 _Which happened to be a utility cleaning supply closet._

As he approached the doorway, he made certain to make his footsteps heard and made certain to not block the doorway. No person liked to be blocked inside a closet, mutant or not.

He saw her small form rummaging through supplies, and felt amusement anchor in his chest, flowing from him to her. He knew it didn't pass through completely, could still feel that she was blocking him. That was something that _wouldn't_ last, _if he had anything to do about it_.

John cleared his throat, trying to let her know he was there without startling her too bad and wasn't too surprised when an opaque shield popped up around her. He was surprised that she didn't attempt to move him with her shield though. He figured she was more interested in defending herself than attempt disarming him. _Either way, he approved of the move._

He knew she didn't jump in surprise because of his angle at the doorway and the bondmark had let her know he was near, so he waited for her to turn around and noticed that she was rubbing her chest. John knew that she was dealing with the ache he had dealt with in the beginning. It still concerned him though.

He pulled back on the emotions trying to get through the bond, knew that she was having trouble dealing with all of them at the same time, and was rewarded when her hand stopped rubbing her chest and dropped down by her side.

The shield stayed up, which didn't surprise him. It also reminded him that he needed to work on training her with it.

John shifted the couple of feet it took to reach the shield and reached out to set his hand against it. It felt odd against his hand, like solid air, different from other shield's he had encountered while helping run the underground. The shield suited Lauren in a way, though.

He noticed her shudder past the shield, and concern flash through him as his mind started trying to examine the relationship of how the shield was connected to her. He would need to know more in order to help train and protect her.

To keep Lauren from getting skittish, he tried to push comforting and reassuring feelings through the bond, trying to let her know his actions didn't mean harm. He knew he had somewhat succeeded when she relaxed a fraction.

 _He really needed to get her to stop blocking the bond._

When her hand moved slightly and the shield disappeared, John felt relief that she had some control over her abilities, at least enough to consciously create and dissipate shields.

When he realized she wouldn't say anything, he knew that he would be the one to start.

Bracing himself, he needed to know, "how are you? You okay?"

Keeping track of the bond, as well as her body language and tone, he felt amusement well up in him at her responses. She was trying so very hard to convince the both of them that she was fine and doing her best to stall, but it was _beyond_ time to deal with this.

John still fought a smile, knowing she would probably take it the wrong way. _Lauren was adorable though._

He continued on, lowering his voice while not changing his stance. The only place she would be going at the moment was with him to the office so they could talk.

"We need to talk about the bondmark. I know you don't know a lot about what's going on, and I can fill you in on some things, but bondmarks are different for each pair."

He knew he'd caught her attention with that last part, which was fine by him. She needed to know he wasn't going away, and that just because there was little to no real information on the internet about the bondmarks didn't mean that they were uncommon. _The complete opposite_. A mutant not having a bondmark was almost unheard of. It was an accepted thing in their society, and she needed to learn it from him. They also need to get Lorna back so that her and Marcos could help him with this. They had more experience than he did.

He saw her expression tighten slightly and pulled back the concern he'd pushed towards her. One day she'd be ready for all of the emotions in the bond, but that wasn't today.

John also didn't want anybody just stumbling upon them and hearing about their conversation. He refused to hide it, but he needed to get her used to it before they could be open about it and tell others in the group.

"This isn't really the place to talk about the bondmark. The office is empty right now, Marcos is with the young kids. This may take a little while," he cautioned her since he wasn't sure how many questions she would have. He was betting on a good amount.

Even though she agreed to move to the office, he could feel her hesitance and while it amused him a little, he also had to remind himself to be patient. There were many factors to consider; the age difference, the events going on now, her family and more. Just because he felt possessive already didn't mean she was on the same page. _Not yet._

He could see she was starting to understand a few things about the bond, which was good with him. More questions, less confusion so that when she did get into trouble, he could get her out of it and she would have no excuses about the punishment he gave her. He had a sense that grounding her at the base would not be uncommon in the future.

John decided to play a little after sensing her hesitance to move towards him. Lauren was most likely feeling the need to touch and trying to resist, and while he wanted to make her comfortable around him, he wasn't the type to resist playing a little. Moving over slightly, just enough so that she could get past him but not enough that there was complete room to move touching each other, he tilted his head in response, "Lead the way."

He normally wouldn't have too many people ahead of him unless they were on a rescue mission, but he had a feeling that she'd get into more trouble if she was out of sight for too long, so ahead of him she went. He also had the feeling that would become the standard. _Once again, he had no issues with that._

It was time to clear the air and make intentions known ( _for him_ ) and answer questions ( _for her and him_ ). John knew that Lauren wasn't really looking forward to the coming conversation, but they both needed it to happen and he wasn't one to let uncertain things be.

 _Everything was going to change after this, and he was kind of looking forward to it._


	3. I'm so sorry, not an update but soon

p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.119999885559082px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hey all, /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.119999885559082px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"I'm so so sorry, please don't hate me. This isn't an update but I promise I am working on it. I've been blown away by all of the support, I'm just asking for a little more patience. This chapter does have the conversation in it, but I also have two really hard and time consuming classes right now, plus multiple part time jobs and I'm beginning tests this week and next week; so studying is taking priority. I did watch the last episode and have some ideas, but the dialogue for this coming chapter is being a pain in the ass to write. I can see it in my head, it's just having a difficult time getting into words. I have some written, there's just a lot of demands on my time at the moment and this story, as much as it pains me, is a low priority. Again, just please a little patience. I'm hoping to have the next chapter up by this Friday, if not then on Sunday. I do get all your reviews, and I'm honored, so thank you :)/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.119999885559082px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.119999885559082px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"AnnieHart./p 


	4. Of Conversations and Acceptance

Author's Note: I am so very sorry for the long wait…Life sorta imploded and overwhelmed me for about a month and then my dad was admitted to the hospital for a few days and school is super hard right now and I decided to start a little etsy business. Also, this chapter was the biggest pain in the ass to write. I haven't been able to focus on it that well and have been writing a little bit each day during the slow periods at work. You know how sometimes you have a scene in your head and you know what you want but the writing just won't come…yea, that was this. I'm not sure if this is what anybody had in mind for the conversation, I'm not sure it's what even I originally had in mind, but It's what came out of my tired head. I also tried to flow between the two of them instead of completely alternating POV's, and it seemed to work out? I'm also incredibly behind on the episodes so I have no idea if this is now considered AU from the show, also just behind on shows and media in general. I have a month of school left before break and it's trying to murder me with stress, anxiety and sleep deprivation. Anyways, I tried to make this chapter better and I make absolutely no promises as to when the next update will be. I just appreciate all the support so incredibly much, but just letting you all know right now that I no longer hope to update once a week simply because It's too much. I'm sorry, but school and work are first for me. Anyways, I hope you enjoy and any criticism, please make it helpful. I'm a perfectionist who feels like I've done something wrong when I get criticized on something, and this is supposed to be a stress reliever, not a stress adder. As always, I own nothing, I simply like to play with the characters for a little bit. All mistakes are mine, and if something seems like it doesn't fit or flow, please let me know. I tried, but I'm human and mistakes happen. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

* * *

As Lauren walked towards the unoccupied office, she could feel John's heat close to her body.

She didn't know if it was just because of the amount of body heat he put out (which was a lot) or if it was because her powers recognized the bond and helped attract the heated air molecules around him closer to her. Or it could be that she was just very sensitive to his proximity to her….he did keep fairly close to her. _Or it was all three._

Knowing her powers fairly well after multiple years of hiding them and feeling some of what the bond was capable of, Lauren was more-or-less betting on the last option.

She turned the knob and pushed the door open, walking into the room and hearing John enter behind her. She _briefly_ entertained the thought of making an excuse, but Lauren knew it would be flimsy at best; he'd see right through her and pushed the thought away as she heard the door close behind him.

 _Now or never._

Lauren took a moment to look around the office, she'd been close to it but never actually inside. As she was looking around, she felt the ache in her chest flare slightly but not in an entirely bad way, more like _comfort._ It was a slight soothing presence against the chaotic tumblings of her own emotions and her thoughts that were going every which way.

She had a feeling that wherever this bond was going to take them, he was going to be the rock, the steady one she was going to eventually lean on. She'd never had anyone to lean on after the emergence of her powers; she'd had to learn how to be independent and stand on her own, so she wasn't entirely sure if she was happy about getting that close with John. It would be _so easy_ to accept everything and just go along, but that wasn't who she was; hadn't been since the car crash that hadn't happened.

Lauren turned around and sat down on the small couch; the office wasn't that big and while she wanted to hear about what John knew, she also wanted just a little bit of distance from him. She _desperately_ needed to gain her equilibrium back, and the bond encouraging her to let John close was not helping her. His near constant presence, both physically and emotionally was not helping either.

She was starting to understand just how dangerous his effect on her would be. John wasn't going away, he'd made that crystal clear and she was slowly realizing she didn't want him to go; Lauren just didn't quite know how to handle that realization.

Well, in a way she did. Time for questions and answers. Pushing aside the bond for a moment to get answers was something she could handle.

Lauren looked up from her position on the couch as John moved and grabbed the lone chair in the office, bringing it with him as he sat opposite from her.

John looked at the petite hellion in front of him, taking notice of her body language at the same time keeping an eye on the bond. He was amazed at just how much was going through her, knew that Lauren would need an outlet to get rid of the tension and tumultuous emotions raging in her, and soon.

"What do you know about the bond?" Well…that worked. Lauren didn't mean to just blurt it out but she hadn't had a clue how to start this conversation so she figured that blunt could be a good thing in some cases. _Like now._

John smirked slightly, pushing a soothing feeling towards the bond, wanting her to calm down a little.

"Bonds have been around for as long as mutants have." He started. John figured the beginning was always a good place to start.

Lauren didn't look too surprised at this, but they'd pretty much just met not that long ago and he didn't know enough about her yet to know what surprised her. _That would change, though._

He felt a slight annoyed feeling come through the bond, and realized she didn't like the pause.

"Every mutant has a bonded. The bond only shows up when both mutants become…activated, in a sense," he continued, "the bond becomes permanent with skin-to-skin contact….however it happens."

John added that last little thought, figuring that she was beyond old enough to understand that a brush of the hand or arm wasn't the only way to cement the bond. _A kiss could and would also do the trick._

He'd seen some of the bolder mutants, male and female, do just that. For many, the bond was a lifeline, a chance that they wouldn't be alone for the rest of their lives. Not everyone felt that way at the beginning, but no one lasted long against that kind of connection. The bond didn't force anything, just helped with connection.

Lauren flushed a little with the added afterthought, though she wasn't sure why. She had a boyfriend….scratch that, she had had a boyfriend. She was pretty sure that with everything that had happened, and with the bond with John, her boyfriend was now a thing of the past.

She had a feeling that John did not and would not share, especially since everything she had seen with him so far indicated that not only was he protective…he was also possessive as hell.

That was okay, Lauren figured, she didn't share either.

John's voice cut back into her thoughts, "The bond only gets stronger with time. The longer the bonded have been together, the stronger the bond is."

That made Lauren look up and connect eyes with John. She still had her walls up against the bond, and she could feel him; not well but she could feel him. _If that was just the beginning…_.

"How strong does the bond get?" She wanted to know, _needed_ to know.

John shrugged at that question. "No one really knows. The bond is an accepted and welcomed aspect of mutant life, but it's also not openly spoken about."

Lauren could understand that. She knew there were a lot of things her parents didn't share with her and Andy about their marriage, and they didn't have a mutant bond, just their commitment and devotion to each other. She wouldn't want to share super personal things either.

"How many bonded mutants have you met?" She was curious. He knew a lot more than she did, and that information had to have come from somewhere.

John smiled softly at her with that question. "I've met a good amount of bonded mutants, but even with everything I've learned, I don't know everything. Some aspects of the bond are unique to each pair. Some of it's going to be learned along the way."

Lauren looked down at her hands at that comment, a little disappointed. She didn't like that little piece of information, but she still knew more now than she did before.

John cleared his throat softly to get her attention back. He knew she wanted to know more, but there were some parts of the bond that needed to be felt and experienced, not explained.

"When we get Lorna back, she can talk to you about her perspective of the bond. Her and Marcos are one of the strongest pairs I've seen and been around. She'll be able to give you some insight that I can't."

He felt Lauren's relief at that, along with her curiosity. He had a feeling that curiosity was going to lead her to trouble, and he was actually looking forward to it. He had a strong feeling the bond with Lauren was going to be an interesting adventure. John also knew that she needed stability in her life, and was more than happy to provide that.

Lauren felt relief that John knew a female mutant she could talk to along with curiosity. She knew there had to be a way to find out more information, she wasn't afraid of digging deep; she just wasn't sure how she was going to handle any information she could come across that pertained to a deeper relationship with John.

Her attention was once again yanked back to John when he spoke again but with an undercurrent of caution in his voice.

"Lauren, the bond….it doesn't really allow for a lot of distance between the bonded."

That relief in Lauren turned anxious almost instantly and she tried to block out the ache that flared up again in her chest, and found that she couldn't block it anymore than she already had.

Her hand came up to try to rub at her chest in an attempt to alleviate the ache, but discovered it wasn't working as much as it had.

Lauren felt something trying to push against the inside of her chest and before she could panic, noticed an almost warmer pressure ease the ache and looked at John with a realization.

"The ache I've been feeling, it's the bond."

He nodded and with his next words, answered a question she hadn't realized she'd had.

"It is and it isn't. The ache is telling you the bond is there but the ache isn't the bond."

That made Lauren confused, as she'd always thought that the ache had been the bond, but with John's next words she became hesitant.

"The ache is from the bond…being blocked." There was a look in John's eyes she couldn't identify as he continued speaking, "You're blocking the bond, either subconsciously or on purpose. When the block is gone, the ache will go away. The longer the bond is blocked, the more that it will ache."

Lauren realized that was what he meant moments ago when he mentioned _distance_. The reason why her chest ached so much at times, especially in the presence of John was because she was blocking the bond, had been for years.

She also finally understood what the look in his eyes was; _possessiveness mixed with some annoyance._

John wanted the bond with her to be _completely_ open; he didn't like the fact that she was blocking him anymore than the bond liked being blocked.

Lauren wasn't entirely sure if she was ready to stop blocking the bond; she wasn't sure if she even knew how to stop blocking the bond.

She looked at John with guarded eyes and felt the ache _flare_ and John felt the hesitance clearly through the bond, knew this time that she didn't even know she was sending the emotion through.

"Lauren," John started, "the _second_ we touched, the bond was _cemented_. There is no way to stop it, or get rid of it. The constant ache in your chest and the feeling in the back of your mind, is because you're trying to deny it. Once you stop trying to make it go away, the ache will stop and things will get clearer. The bond…it doesn't force mutants together, but it does give the chance of _something good, something great_ to happen."

Lauren had looked down during the middle of his little speech but looked back up at him when he mentioned the possibility of something great happening between them.

John's eyes had gotten soft at her obvious hesitance and stubbornness, sensing more information would help her have an easier time accepting the bond.

He started speaking again, his voice softer than before, " _However_ the bond happens, _however_ the pairing is determined, no mutant is paired with someone who would be a bad match. Yes, there are differences between the pairs, as there are differences between all couples but _no match is a bad match."_

Lauren's heart had started beating quicker when his voice had softened, and she didn't know if that had to do with the bond, or was just her reacting to him. She had a feeling it wasn't the bond, that it was her reacting to him all on her own.

She was realizing that _even without the bond,_ she would have reacted to John anyways and it left her feeling even more slightly off balance.

Lauren was startled out of her thoughts again as she tuned back into the moment and saw John's hand hovering in the air before her, raising her eyes back up to meet his.

"Let go of the block, Lauren," John's voice was soft, but _firm_ in the silence between them.

She didn't want to let go of the block, but she could also _feel_ him despite her best attempts at blocking him; knew that he wasn't going anywhere…she _wasn't_ going to be getting rid of him, _John was never going to let her go._

John kept his hand hovering in front of her body, opening the bond even more on his side of it; feeling the emotions raging through her despite the limited flow of them. He did his best to push feelings of solidity, reassurance, yet stubborn insistence on his side.

He _needed_ her to let go of block, in order for them to move forward the block needed to be gone and he was man enough, _possessive_ enough to admit that now that he had her and the bond was cemented, _he was going nowhere._

John also knew she needed a moment to think and decide, and was willing to give it to her but was also stubborn enough that neither of them were leaving the office until the block was _gone._

Lauren wanted his hand to be withdrawn, knew it wouldn't be though. Despite the limitations she had put up, she could feel him through the bond; felt his stubbornness, his determination, his possessiveness.

Grasping his hand would be an acknowledgement, _acceptance_ of what had already happened, of the bond, of the simple fact that this was happening and the possible promise of their future.

Taking John's hand would mean letting him _in_ , letting at least part of her guard _down_.

A large part of her didn't want to, but there was another part of her that did…and that part terrified her.

However, she'd been making decisions that terrified her for years now, and most of them had worked out.

The bond was _different_ though, Lauren didn't think John would allow any other outcome between them other than the minimum of them "working out."

Taking a deep breath, full of hesitance but also acceptance, Lauren finally moved and rested her hand in John's, feeling the roughness of his palm indicating he was no stranger to hard work. She also felt the power in his hand, the gentleness that she knew indicated she was safe with him.

John's hand closed around hers, _the unspoken claim and acceptance between them_ and his voice cut into the silence again, _soft_ but _firm_ , "Lauren, _let go_ of the block."

With her eyes closed, using his firm touch as a physical sensation to help ground herself, Lauren went to the place inside her that seemed to ache the most, the place where the emotions felt limited.

The block wasn't a physical thing, she realized. _It was an acceptance thing._ She had to fully accept John, accept everything he could mean to her; everything that she could mean to him.

She focused on the soothing feeling coming through the bond, the rough texture of his hand on hers, the slow movement of his thumb on her hand grounding her through everything.

She focused on _Him_ and less on her hesitant and terrified emotions and then just…. _relaxed and accepted._

Lauren nearly lost her breath for a moment at the influx of feelings, emotions, power and sheer energy that flowed through the bond; felt the flow slow down and realized John was controlling it.

John had felt the block disappear but hadn't wanted to prevent Lauren from feeling the potential for everything between them, so he hadn't tried to control the flow. When she'd gasped and her grip on his hand had tightened, however, he'd realized it was too much too soon and so had slowed the bond flow slightly. As she got her breath back, and her grip loosened, he opened the flow more until it was completely open.

Lauren's eyes opened, and their gazes locked. She felt satisfaction, delight and a multitude of other emotions through the open bond and watched as John adjusted his grip and raised their locked hands to his mouth to press his lips against her wrist.

 _The wrist that had the bondmark across it._

She felt a shiver run down her spine at the gesture and saw John's eyes darken, realized he'd not only felt her shudder at the sensation, he'd felt her emotions spike at the gesture.

Lauren also realized if this is what it felt like with a simple affectionate touch between them on her side of it, with more affectionate touches from him, well…she was _completely_ screwed.

John's eyes were trained on hers and lit up with heavy warmth, affection and possessiveness. She could also see amusement deep within his eyes and realized that whatever she'd seen of his interactions with other mutants and felt from the limited bond, it had in no way prepared her for any affectionate interactions with him.

She felt flushed and knew her heart was beating fast, but couldn't control her reaction to him.

Just as Lauren was about to say something _incredibly stupid_ to try and break the tension between them, she flinched at a sudden knock on the office door and saw annoyance flicker through John's eyes. While she did feel some annoyance they had been interrupted, she also felt relief that she didn't have to deal with the tension at the moment. _Later_ , yes; _now_ , fortunately, no.

"John," she heard a voice call through the door. _Dreamer_.

Lauren felt her hackles rise a little but with the steady affection running to her through the open bond, she settled slightly.

"John, you're needed," the insistent voice of Dreamer cut through the door.

Lauren felt and heard the annoyance and resignation through the bond and in his voice when he responded with "I'll be right there," and allowed her to take her hand back while he stood up, indicating their time was done.

She needed to find her mom and Andy anyways.

Her relief was cut short when his eyes locked on hers and realized that though the moment in the office was gone and things had gotten slightly settled, _they had only just begun._

She had accepted them but whether she was actually ready for everything that entailed remained up for debate.

Her whole body froze when John moved in front of her instead of moving towards the door, her mind coming to a halt when he ducked his head slightly.

Gentle but firm lips pressed against her cheek and sent emotions into overdrive, and as John's body went still she knew he felt it when he lingered instead of making it a short kiss.

She was just about to grab ahold of him to keep her emotional balance when his lips moved from her cheek to her ear and she not only _heard_ him but _felt his assurance_ in his words, softly spoken to her but still firm, _"I'll see you in a little bit."_

With those last actions and words, Lauren watched John open the door slightly and close it after exiting, realizing he was giving her time to get her bearings back privately.

With a sigh, she sat back down on the couch and dropped her head in her hands.

She was so incredibly out of her depth in this, with him…and from what she could feel, the jerk was enjoying keeping her emotionally off balance.

John, for his part, was _thrilled_ Lauren had accepted the bond, _finally_ , and was actually feeling a sense of satisfaction at keeping her off balance. Call it male satisfaction, but he was man enough to admit that he enjoyed that Lauren couldn't control her reactions to him. Hell, she didn't realize it yet but he couldn't always control his responses to her, so he figured fair was fair with that.

John didn't know much about what would happen after this but he did have the sense that this would be an adventure with Lauren; and Lauren, well, she was realizing that while John enjoyed making her flustered, she could aggravate him right back.

She wasn't used to having this type of relationship with anyone, not even her old boyfriend…but if there was one thing she'd learned over the past few years it was that she was a fast learner.

Lauren was _hoping_ that that included learning how to deal with the possessive, confident man that held the other half of her bond.

She sighed again and got up, needing to find her family. She needed to break the news to them and was hoping that it would go over well. Somehow, she had a feeling that for once, she was being too optimistic.

It was a good thing that John was pretty much indestructible, and that they hadn't gotten her dad back yet. She just needed to make sure they weren't inside when she told her brother so he wouldn't destroy anything and that there were no needles around her mom.

Her family could get a tad violent when provoked, but she was betting on John being able to handle it. He'd handled everything else that had happened pretty well, her family wasn't _that_ dangerous.


	5. Of Changes and some Down Time

Author's Note:Yay! New Chapter! This took me an unreasonable amount of time to get out. I had a lot going on, and then I got writers block and even though I kept bouncing ideas and scenes around in my head for this chapter and writing little snippets down for it, I lost the desire to continue writing. I struggle with some mental health issues that like to pop up at the most random times and that also played a part in it.

I'm not super happy with how the chapter turned out(my harshest critic is myself), but part of what took so long is that I tried to make it go one way and it wasn't working out; I finally just let scenes come to me and I finally got inspired. I don't know how long this story is going to be, or have any direction for it, but thank you for staying on this journey with me. I might try to follow along the show and just add Lauren as the love interest instead of Clarice or I just might take inspiration from the show and do my own thing, I'm not sure. I'm suck at doing much more than thoughts and dialogue, and I've never tried to do multiple characters, so this is going to be a challenge for me if/when I add more of the characters, so if something doesn't make sense or flow, please let me know. I do welcome any potential ideas/prompts even if they range from current to later chapters.

Also, please remember, as much as I wish that writing fiction was my full time paid job, it's not. I'm a part time student working on my Master's degree with two part time jobs and a life as well as attempting to start a small business, so unless I get a burst of inspiration, my stories don't get updated weekly. I also really don't do well with confrontation or negative criticism-childhood issues-so if you have something helpful to say, please be nice about it. If it's not going to be helpful, please don't send it. I try to respond to reviews, even if it's months later, sorry about the delay. If you're a guest commentor, I can't personally respond to you except in my notes; to those who commented about being disappointed in my update time frame and/or mentioned finding someone else to update my stories-these are **my** stories, no one else writes them and I don't put stories up for adoption. If they take a long time to update, they take a long time. I'm aware of the time frame between updates, but I don't get inspiration every day and I have multiple jobs, homework and many other things. These stories are an exercise of my Degree and meant to be stress relief/down time/homework procrastination for me. be kind, please :)

Again, I appreciate all of you so much and am thankful for your patience and support of not only this story, but all of my stories. You all make me smile :) I hope you enjoy, I am so incredibly rusty with writing this story (writing in general)...and a little hint on this chapter: the short time jump is deliberate. Sorry, long authors note now over :)

* * *

Lauren sighed as she closed the office door. She had wanted to stay in there longer and maybe ( _sorta_ ) hide from the rest of the group but she figured that sooner or later someone would need the office and inquire about why she was in there.

It wasn't really like she could just blurt out that _"oh, hey, well… John can be stubborn, determined, and really persuasive (not to mention hot and intense and holy crap) and I finally accepted the bond between us and let him fully in and I'm good with it but I'm also freaking out too because I let him in and I was just trying to regroup from the conversation we had and it led to hiding for awhile and how are you?"_

Well, _technically_ she could but that would let to a lot of questions she just wasn't entirely prepared for….she also wanted to learn more about the bond and learn more about John and figure out where their relationship might be heading.

Therefore, _no_ , she really didn't want to blurt anything out or have anymore confrontations. So… as much as she wanted to go and inform her family of recent events and changes, Lauren really didn't want any more yelling or bloodshed happening, or Andy blowing things up, at least not for a while. Or at least, not until the chaos was needed.

Lauren was pulled out of her thoughts as she got farther from the office and closer to the main common area and heard the sounds of an argument, if the sounds of multiple raised voices was any indication.

Among those raised voices, she heard John.

"There he is," she muttered to herself.

Well…at least now she knew where he had been pulled off to.

Then she heard her mother's voice among the others and instant wariness filled her. She wasn't entirely sure what the argument was about, but Lauren got her stubbornness from somewhere, and only a _small_ part of it came from her father.

 _The rest was all her mother._

"This can't be good," with slow steps towards the raised voices.

However, the closer she got to the argument, she realized that it wasn't just between her mother and John, but Marcos and a few other mutants were involved in it too. Then she realized they were arguing about Clarice and the portals. Just as she was about to go in and join her mother and John's defense, _caution_ and _something soothing_ came over her and Lauren realized that John was sending things through the bond, and that he didn't want her to interfere but he also wanted to let her know everything was somewhat okay.

Lauren realized a couple things in that moment.

Feeling things and unknowingly sending things through the bond was unnervingly easy, and that getting anything by John was going to be _difficult, if not impossible_ with his tracker abilities.

She hadn't made a sound that was loud enough for the other's to notice, but not only had John felt her through the bond, he'd sensed her through his abilities and she wasn't sure how she _felt_ about being constantly tracked by him.

Sure, on one hand it was nice to know that he was concerned and cared, and on the other hand; she also liked having a little privacy at times and just avoiding people in general sometimes. Having someone, especially someone that she had a bond with, knowing where she was or at least the general area was going to mess with that. She'd learned to be a private person over the last few years while keeping her powers and bondmark hidden; if she wasn't careful, John was going to erase that need and _she wasn't ready for that_.

Yes, she'd let him, but honestly, _miracles didn't happen overnight_. Defenses she'd had for the past few years were not going to disappear completely.

Lauren was pulled out of her thoughts when she realized she was hovering awkwardly by the door and realized she needed to disappear for a little bit.

"Where can a person go to or disappear to for a while without completely freaking out everyone, namely their bondpartner, while still being relatively safe," Lauren wondered lowly under her breath to herself. ( _because talking to oneself was always a good sign_ ).

She considered finding Andy but he'd been talking about finding boardgames to pass the time and she really wasn't in the mood to put on a happy face, or kick his ass in another board game, therefore…outside wandering time it was.

Lauren knew that she couldn't go far, not with Sentinal Services cracking down and her dad and Lorna were still in custody….but there were a decent amount of woods just behind their condemned building she could escape in for a little while.

Until John tracked her down, or Andy wanted her to help him train again. Like the training exercise at the crappy motel had gone all that well….he'd _almost_ made the vending machine freaking _explode._

"The woods it is, for a little while at least," she confirmed.

The woods would be a good place to wander for some time, and maybe some shield practice away from prying eyes would distract her from everything.

Still though…with the woods in mind but also the new understanding of John's tendencies, she figured now would be a good time to attempt pushing through the bond…hopefully without distracting him too much.

Lauren had found a spot out of the way from all the busyness, she wasn't sure how zoned out she would look and didn't want people asking questions she wasn't ready to answer…Lauren tried to let John know-in feelings-that she was going to disappear for a little while but that she was okay.

And by _try_ , Lauren _attempted to focus_ on the pulsing in the back of her mind and the warmth in her chest and tried to send him something along the lines of safe and a decision to explore.

She was a fast learner but no one ever said that deliberately sending feelings and emotion for the first time would be an easy thing, _especially_ when she had no idea what she was doing.

Lauren wasn't sure if she was successful for a moment, but considering that after a couple moments she was feeling a new sense of _amusement_ , _caution_ and a feeling of _being tracked_ ( _she wasn't sure about the last one_ ) that were not originally hers, she didn't _completely fail_ at pushing through the bond.

" _Yay for me_ ," she half sarcastically and half happy said herself ( _yes, again, she didn't want to talk to anyone else at the moment_ ).

Time for wandering the woods, and possible shield practice. She figured John would find her later, he'd pretty much confirmed it earlier and she wasn't ready to seek him out herself just yet.

Out of all the emotions running through him, _frustration_ was the main emotion that John was feeling, following the argument ( _discussion_ ) with Marcos, Caitlyn and the others about Clarice and whether or not she was ready to train, let alone help with the plan….until a hesitant feeling of _safety_ and the _urge to explore_ settled over him and a sense of _surprise and finally_ well up inside.

Lauren was trying to tell him that she was safe, which he was happy about, but also…that she was going to go explore?

 _Explore?_

"What?," he asked in a low tone in surprise.

John was confused for a second before he realized what else he'd sensed with Lauren's wandering feeling….his bondmate was feeling _confined_ and slightly _cabin-fever-ish_ and needed to get out.

He assumed that she was going to head for the woods behind HQ.

John had no problem with that…HQ still had their security system in place and he had no desire to stifle Lauren in any way; that didn't mean that he wasn't going to keep an eye ( _sense_ ) on her though.

Even though she couldn't hear him, he still responded out loud to her, "that's fine, go for it," while pushing emotion responses back to her.

Easily pushing back a sense of _amusement_ ( _simply letting her know that he thought it would be good for her_ ) as well as a sense of _caution_ ( _because while their security was in place didn't mean that she didn't need to be careful_ ), John looked at the time and though it was afternoon, made a note to go hunting if he didn't see her by dusk.

He had no issue with her exploring close by if she was feeling confined at HQ ( _she could take care of herself, had proven multiple times_ ) but he didn't want her to be alone in the woods at night.

Call him overprotective ( _go ahead, really, he had no problems admitting it_ ) with Lauren, but he finally had her, he wasn't going to let anything happen to her if he had a say in it.

Pausing for a moment, however, John looked at the papers in front of him and realized something.

 _He was doing paperwork and his bondmate was feeling cabin fever enough she wanted to explore the woods, one of the best places his abilities worked._

Paperwork and plans could wait until the morning when he didn't feel like banging his head and breaking the desk.

 _John felt like hunting a petite blond with a penchant for creating shields who had only recently accepted his claim and bond_.

With that thought, John set aside his paperwork and headed out, bondmark and abilities open and ready.

In the woods behind HQ, Lauren had only been wandering for a little while, less than an hour when she felt the bond almost _zing_ with _amusement_ ; along with a sudden feeling that she was being hunted but not that she was in any danger.

 _Well, not the typical danger anyways_.

She quickly realized that not only had John been fine with her exploring, but he had decided to join her….and _play hide-and-seek at the same time._

Lauren couldn't tell if this was a spontaneous training session or an impromptu…. _date_?

Either way, it felt as though John wanted to play a little hide-and-seek and do a little training at the same time.

 _Well…alrighty then_.

She knew ( _sorta_ ) how his powers worked….and it would be good practice now for the future if she ever needed to try and escape his notice ( _for whatever reason that may be, it was good to be prepared_ ). Lauren figured there was no way she could outrun him, especially in the woods…but she figured she could ( _maybe_ ) outhide him, at least for a little while.

At the edge of the woods, John stood for a moment while filling the open bond with _amusement_ and a _playful_ feeling. He figured that Lauren already knew that he was out there and that he had come to help with any training…but he didn't feel like training at that moment.

John felt like bonding with his bondmate. He didn't know what was going to happen, but he was looking forward to it.

John would find out a few hours later that some uninterrupted play time in the woods with Lauren was a good thing, in his mind.

Lauren would also come to find out a few hours later…. _hide-and-seek with a hunter/tracker former marine who was her bondmate was….interesting….to say the least._

* * *

Later that night, as Lauren laid in bed, she thought back to what had transpired just a few hours ago.

What she had thought would probably be a training session had turned out to be less of a training session and more of _John playing with her_. She noted for the future that when John wanted to play…. _he wanted to play_. ( _she had a feeling mental notes would come in handy in the future._ )

 _Hide-and-seek had turned into more of an adventurous and safe yet playful…date._

John had tracked her, and while their bond had been open, he'd used it more to send _affectionate_ emotions through that sent her slightly off-kilter each time than to try and improve their ( _her_ ) abilities.

Oh, she'd tried to send back emotions of her own, but John hadn't tried to teach her anything. She'd pushed her frustration through a few times, but he hadn't turned it into any training; he'd wanted to have her unguarded and open emotions more than he'd wanted to be a teacher.

 _He'd made it clear what he wanted from her during their time in the woods, and he'd fairly successfully gotten some of it_.

John had wanted her to be open, and while she'd held some things back, she had sent through a lot of her open emotions, and he'd reciprocated.

The experience had been like nothing she'd ever, well… _experienced_ , and at the end….. _shivers ran down her spine._

Lauren squeezed her eyes closed and groaned quietly, "Oh, boy."

They hadn't had sex in the woods, or even gotten any clothes off, and hands had wandered only so far….John had been determined not to push boundaries that far considering they'd only had one of many conversations that afternoon….but _he'd been no saint_.

 _Granted, she hadn't been a saint either_.

No, she'd been more spontaneous than usual and well…when John put his mind to it…. _the man could kiss._

The kiss hadn't gotten all _that_ heated, it'd been more of an _introduction_ and _testing of the waters_ , so to speak…but it also _hadn't been all that chaste_ …at least not after the first couple minutes.

Lauren opened her eyes to stare at the ceiling far above her, grateful that she was alone at the moment, and whispered to herself, mindful of anybody around her with superhearing, "If that was the beginning, and he was mostly behaving…. _oh, boy_."

With her mind still stuck on the events from the woods, Lauren knew she would be getting little restful sleep tonight, especially considering the promise she'd made to keep her side of the bond open.

In his office, once again staring at paperwork detailing possible rescue scenarios, John still had his end of the bond open…. _and was paying more attention to the emotions zinging across it than the paperwork._

He wasn't listening for her, wanting to give her a little privacy considering the promised he'd gotten out of her earlier, but he was very much keeping watch over the bond.

He leaned back for a moment, staring into space but filtering the emotions at the same time.

He hadn't completely realized how deeply Lauren felt, and how much until he'd started filtering. She had so many swirling through her, he'd be worried if the majority weren't along the same lines of cautious happiness.

C _autious happiness, a little apprehension, attraction, some wariness_ …it was a mixture of pretty much everything he had been expecting.

John grinned as a _good amount of heat zinged_ through the bond and realized she was replaying earlier in her head.

 _Good._

He wanted her to get used to him and the way he made her feel, and if a _not quite chaste but not that heated kiss sent heat and made her shiver_ …. _he was all for it._

 _He wasn't possessive, honest._

John was still slightly grinning as he stood and left the office; it was getting late and tomorrow was most likely going to be chaotic, so sleep was needed.

He was going to have no trouble with good dreams tonight.

* * *

Read the note if you haven't. I try to not get super personal, but I try to explain myself for long periods of absence. As I mentioned in the note: the time jump is deliberate. Hide-and-Seek will be the next chapter :)


	6. Of Playtime and Thoughts

**Authors Note:**

Hello all,

I am still alive, and very sorry about the 6(?) month gap between updates. Real life sucked for a good while. I was dealing with school, work and mental health issues-school sucked and I was having a hard time dealing with anxiety and depression for a while, during which I lost all desire to write. I've made my schedule a little less busy and have gotten better but it's a daily battle. I didn't want to continue this story for a while, and this chapter did not want to be written-at all. I'm slowly going back to the beginning (of this story and the show) to gain inspiration. I do love this story, I just didn't want to continue it for a while. Also...for those who suggested having others post chapters for me, that I have forgotten about my stories/followers and that it's rude that I hadn't posted in months/it would be rude to post again after the season 2 premiere, etc; (you know who you are)-I am the only one who writes and posts chapters for my stories. I haven't forgotten anyone, I wanted to update but had no desire to write and how is it rude that I was trying to figure out my life and coming up with another chapter for this story wasn't a huge priority at the time? This is fan fiction. I've seen stories show up on this site that are from fans that have just discovered long cancelled shows. There is no time limit as to when an author is allowed to post a new chapter, even moreso as we(I) don't get paid to do this. My stories are meant to be a stress/anxiety reliever for me, and for a while, they were something that was causing me stress/anxiety. If you are going to leave reviews telling me to let someone else update my story(s) or that I'm rude for having a life and not updating in a while(yes, even many months), etc; thats not helpful to me, it makes me not want to write-please don't review. Helpful reviews help, users being bullies do not.

I do apologize that the chapter may be short, and possibly not what you were expecting. It's difficult for me to write any type of intimate scenes and this was what came out. (I wasn't really expecting it to be this way either, but I'm a little rusty and this is the way the chapter ended up being.) I offer no promise as to when the next chapter will be up, I'm working on updating my other stories but it could be months again...or it could be days. I just don't know. I do thank you all for your continued support, it means a lot that you've stuck with me. Thank you.

* * *

 **Lauren** panted slightly while standing behind a tree, fairly certain that she had gained at least a little bit of space and distance on John.

At first, when she had felt him come outside and get closer and the bond had started pulsing with amusement, she had thought that John had turned her spontaneous outdoor time into a training session. There had been no real reason to think otherwise, especially since pretty much everyone else had been inside HQ….

 _Oh, how wrong she'd been._

* * *

While heading deeper into the woods, Lauren had felt John come outside and start to move closer due to the bond. She had wondered how he was going to start the training when she felt the urge to _run_ being pushed down the bond.

She'd been a little hesitant about what he was planning but had figured she'd go with it and starting moving….until she'd felt more _amusement_ trickling into her thoughts.

" _What_ …?"

When the amusement got warmer, Lauren quickly realized what John was trying to tell her through his feelings and the bond….and then blushed.

John didn't want to train her, at least not at this moment when it was just the two of them. No, John wanted to _play_ with her.

The thought of _playing_ was unusual (she'd never really played with her ex-boyfriend) but Lauren had realized shortly after meeting John that he was nothing like her ex-boyfriend.

That realization had been unnerving ( _still was_ ) but also exciting, and since lowering her wall during their talk, Lauren knew there would be many things that John would do(and be) around her that would be unusual.

She'd already accepted everything with him, hiding from everything wouldn't work anymore.

Lauren was pushed out of her thoughts due to the prod at the back of her conscience and knew John was trying to put her back on task and get her moving.

Move she would…and did.

She didn't run, _exactly_ ….but she also didn't walk. It was more like a stumbling fast walk ( _she'd never really been a woodsy type of person_ ).

It didn't really matter though, because now that she'd started moving, Lauren could feel John using his tracking abilities on her.

 _Well then._ It would seem that abilities could be used.

Lauren grinned at that realization and headed deeper into the woods.

 _Let playtime commence._

* * *

Lauren didn't know how long it had been since she and John had started playing an odd game of Hide-and-Seek; but it had been at least an hour, maybe two.

The sun was starting its decline, which made Lauren sad as she was having fun trying to evade John, and he'd made it clear that they would be inside by the time darkness hit. He didn't want her outside at night unless she either had to be or was near one of the headquarters doors.

Panting, Lauren paused and heard a twig snap and put her shield up while twisting sharply in search of the source of the news ( _it would be John, it had been him all the other times_ ).

She saw John some distance away, grinning while also…. _running_?

Lauren realized John was running straight at her…and he _wasn't slowing down_.

 _Why the hell wasn't he slowing down?_

She felt John pushing _urgency_ through the bond along with an insistent nudge and realized what he wanted.

He wanted her to shield. With him running straight at her. With no intention of slowing down.

Her bondmate was crazy. _He also wasn't stopping._

Lauren pushed _no way_ back at him, but his return answer was _less_ of a _request_ and _more_ like a _demand._

Okay then, _fine_. John wanted her to shield while he…attacked… _she would freaking shield._ Then yell at him later for making her do this.

Lauren gathered her energy, clenched her arms and flung up her shield as quick at possible seeing as how he wasn't _freaking_ _slowing down._

No, if anything as soon as he saw her shield up, he ran faster.

She connected her eyes with his a split second before he hit the shield. And bounced like a toy right off of it. And flew between a couple trees before landing on the ground. Hard.

Lauren took down her shield and after a second of concern, promptly started laughing.

She continued laughing even as he got up and brushed himself off.

Lauren knew she should probably been concerned, but he was invulnerable. Plus, he _had_ asked for it. ( _demanded more like it_ )

Her laughter got less as John simply stood there and looked at her, _exasperation_ flowing down their bond.

"What? You're the one that told me to put my shield up," she reminded him when the exasperation didn't stop.

John finally grinned, and the _exasperation_ turned into _fondness_ …and _something else_ that Lauren couldn't quite pin down but the feeling still made her start to feel warm.

She held herself still ( _only awkwardly shuffled once_ ) looking up and holding his gaze while he came closer to her until there was only a couple inches ( _maybe_ ) between them.

"You did good," he uttered softly, causing her to smile and warmth to invade her cheeks.

The man made it _impossible_ to _not_ blush at times.

She felt one of John's hands rest on her hip while the other one reached up and touch her hair before showing her a leaf, while still smiling softly at her.

Lauren could only smile back and blush harder ( _they were in a forest, leaves were bound to get attached to her at some point_ ).

Her own hands came up to rest on his chest while he tossed the leaf away and felt herself being pulled closer to his body.

 _Warmth_ pulsed down the bond and she could only close her eyes in response. They had played too much and she was much too close to him to put up any sort of resistance at the moment.

A _nudge_ along the bond caused her eyes to open and reconnect with his, _warmth_ and _heat_ swirling in them causing her breath to hitch.

Lauren knew what he wanted and couldn't find it in herself to say no.

She pushed _acceptance_ and want down the bond and saw his eyes flare at the permission granted.

The next thing she knew, his mouth was sealed over hers; a warmth pressed against her lips and her thought process became very limited.

 _There was only heat and firmness, but also gentleness and a caution._

Lauren could feel John moving his mouth over hers, alternating between a firm pressure and a light brushing and it was sending her senses spinning.

The firmness of his chest and the grip he had on her hips and the fact that their bond was wide open with feelings and sensations zinging back and forth was not helping her focus either. It was very much the opposite.

She vaguely heard a whimper and when the pressure on her hips and mouth increased, she realized that she had whimpered and John approved of it ( _very much so_ ).

Lauren wasn't sure how much time had passed while John chastely kissed her senseless (i _f there was such a thing the man had it firmly down_ ) but when he pulled away the sky had gotten a little darker and _satisfaction_ was pulsing through the bond.

She wasn't ready to look at him yet, so she just leaned her head forward on his chest and waited while her senses came back to her. It wasn't that she didn't want to look at him, but that simple kiss had done more to her than any kiss her ex had given her and she wanted to process for a moment.

John, for his part, seemed content to hold her but that also could have been because she wasn't trying to close the bond.

There wasn't any point trying to do that. She also didn't really want to close it. It was slowly becoming comforting having it open in her head.

While it was soothing standing in his arms, Lauren noticed the sky getting progressively darker and knew John noticed it as well, since she felt his body shift to start moving.

"We need to head back in," she heard above her head, "we've probably been missed."

Lauren knew that, but she also didn't want to move. She sent her _disagreement_ down the bond and felt his chest vibrate with a chuckle.

"I know, I agree but we still need to head back in," he responded out loud to her bond response.

She looked back up at him, to see him smiling softly before reassuring her.

"We'll be able to do this again later."

Lauren sighed softly but also knew that her family was probably looking for her, and despite her playtime with John, she still needed to talk with her family about what had happened.

Playtime hadn't changed that, just delayed the conversation for a while.

She sent her _agreement_ down the bond ( _not really feeling like talking at the moment_ ) and felt his arm slip around her waist as they both turned to go back to HQ.

She realized that they had gotten fairly close to HQ while playing and that they didn't have a long walk back. ( _she almost wished it was longer_ ).

Lauren felt his arm slip from her waist, and his hand grab hers once HQ came into view from the woods, and then with a quick squeeze felt him let go.

As much as she didn't like it, she understood.

Once she told her parents, and the rest of the group was notified it would be a different story but for now, even though she knew he was going to hover, the pda had to be kept down.

Lauren also knew that once everyone was aware of what had happened, her bondmate wouldn't be far from her, and due to the playtime they had just had, that thought was easier to accept than it had been a few hours ago.

As HQ got closer, she felt John offer _comfort_ through the bond and started preparing herself for whatever was going to happen next with her family.

 _It was going to be an interesting conversation._


	7. Hello and Help

Hello Loves!

I know it's been a good long while since I've updated...anything, really. I'm working on getting back into writing fanfiction on here, both updating my current stories and potentially starting new ones. No comments on new stories right now. However, on the subject of updating current stories, I'm asking for your help. I have bits and pieces of many ideas bouncing around in my head for these stories but nothing that I can really pin down and expand upon, whether it's a one-shot or start/continuation of a series (yes I'm aware that I only have one series but knowing me, that'll probably change and then not get updated for a long time...I'm saying sorry right now if that does happen. I can't control my inspiration...I wish I could.)

RIght now...I'm asking for your help. I'm asking for prompts and ideas and scenarios and moments (you get the picture...right?) that you may like to see in my stories that I can work on; whether it's future/past/present/dream,etc (Or try to work on that may actually end up being something different, yet similar?) I pretty much have writers block and I need help getting past it.

No constructive criticism or comments about how it's been forever, please. I'm very much aware of just how long it's been for all of my stories, and despite my guilt on not updating, life and my mental health and energy would not let me and focusing on, well...me, was more important. We are all human and I don't get paid for this (which is good because with how long it's been, I would probably have been fired).

I may not use every single idea/prompt/scenario/moment,etc, but anything you all can offer to help me get back into my stories, I would so very much appreciate.

Also, when I update things again, for all stories, this will most likely get deleted, so I'm sorry in advance for potentially multiple notifications of updates.

Love you all, and appreciate you all so much! I look forward to seeing what you all have fore me!

AnnieHart


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